“The failure of the program resulted in the deaths of some patients who did not timely receive kidney transplants. The health of others was severely jeopardized. As the largest HMO in the country, Kaiser’s gross mismanagement of the kidney transplant program certainly did not allow their patients to thrive,” said Lawrence Eisenberg, an attorney for two former patients and the families of three deceased patients.

 

In three of the cases, patients died while awaiting transplants. Another transplant was delayed more than a year because of what the claim alleged was Kaiser’s improper refusal of a donor kidney. A fifth claim alleged that poor post-operation care caused the patient’s body to reject a transplanted kidney.

 

The settlements ranged from $100,000 to $300,000 for each client. A spokesman for Kaiser released a statement saying: “We can confirm these cases have been settled. As we said at the time, we deeply regret the problems, difficulties and concern that some of our members experienced with transfers involving the San Francisco kidney transplant program.”  

 

Kaiser closed its kidney transplant center in San Francisco in 2006, transferring its patients to programs run by the University of California.